Legal support to the independent media

Manual published in March 2007 with the support of the British Embassy to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on the media law and the rights of the independent media in the country.

With initial support from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) opened the media support center (MSC) in Almaty to bolster free expression and journalistic rights in Kazakhstan. The center's activities are currently jointly supported by the British Embassy in Astana and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The MSC provides a range of legal support to the independent media including:

• telephone and e-mail hotlines where journalists and independent media throughout Kazakhstan can contact the center for free advice and consultations. The hotline number is +7 (3272) 938-661 and the e-mail address is info@msc-law.kz.
• legal support and resources for independent media and journalists involved in litigation or administrative proceedings, including, in some cases, representation by the center's staff attorneys.
• training for judges through the national Judicial Training Center on national and international laws governing the media.
• monitoring and reporting on court cases and legal developments involving the mass media, including via e-mail bulletins and a web site at www.msc-law.kz. To assist judges and lawyers, ABA ROLI has developed and published Courts and the Mass Media, a manual on laws and regulations governing media.
• legal analysis and proposals for legal reform to improve domestic legislation concerning the rights of free expression and the media.

The Legal Support to the Independent Media program ended in August 2007.

Regional legal advocacy program

One of a series of trainings for lawyers around the country undertaken by ABA ROLI to prepare them to pursue their client's interest under the new jury trial system. October–November 2006.

The regional legal advocacy program provides a forum to connect and network advocates and legal leaders across Central Asia to encourage them to discuss common problems, especially in criminal cases, and to come together to develop regional solutions. The program provides support for advocates on emerging legal issues, such as the recent institution of jury trials in Kazakhstan, the move to do the same in Kyrgyzstan and the use of strategic litigation across the region. It further trains advocates on advocacy skills in the courtroom and leadership skills in the community, and provides guidance and resources on special issues and cases.

ABA ROLI-produced PSA aired on national television, explaining the basics of a jury trial system to the public in Kazakhstan in May 2007.

Through its U.S. Agency for International Development-supported public legal education program, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) seeks to bolster the public's legal literacy and corresponding ability to assert its rights. Component activities have included:

• Two televised mock trials, including the nation's first televised mock jury trial. In many instances, this kind of programming is the first exposure that the average resident of Kazakhstan has to the law and its role in their lives, and serves as a basic introduction to the legal system as it should function.
• The implementation in sites throughout the country of a street law program in which specially-trained law students provide lessons on basic legal concepts, rights and democratic principles to secondary school students.
• During 2007, ABA ROLI anticipates airing a series of three public service announcements (PSAs) on basic concepts of law, and to record and air two analytical programs on the newly implemented jury trial system and the legal framework governing the free exercise of religion in the country.
• In its work with law students, ABA ROLI has implemented programs designed to promote pro-active training, including organizing the national rounds of the Phillip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition and numerous mock trials and advocacy skills trainings. ABA ROLI has also supported numerous educational clinics, the most recent being the law clinic affiliated with Western Kazakhstan State University in Uralsk.

For more information, contact abakz@abaroli.kz.